The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1887-01-22

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best adapted to its use. The gunner,
standing in the bow of the boat, gen.
orally waits till the muzzle of the piece
is within this distance of the whales
side. The bomb-lancc is sometimes
fired from the deck of the schooner at
a passing whale; and good shot may
kill the huge creature, or wound him
SO seriously that he is easily overtaken
and secured.
remember one afternoon in May,
1882. we were cruising off Isle au Haut,
on the Maine coast, ten or fifteen miles
out to sea. We had lain becalmed for
an hour or two, when one of the sailors
called out "Bloosr' and within five
minutes we saw several white Jets ris-
ing about mile from the schooner.
A school of finbacks was coming
from the direction of Grand Manan.
After watching them blow few mo-
ments, it became evident that they
would pass us to seaward, going
sou westerly. Seeing this. our skipper
hastily ordered the boat manned. ran
for his bomb-gun. and we put off to in
tercept them. 1t was quite warm
afternoon, with bright sun, and the
sea unusually smooth and CLASSY for
these waters. There were five whales
in the school. They were moving leis-
urely. rolling an blowing. and we
pulled directly ahead of them.
1t was interesting to watch the huge
creatures, for our boat seemed to fill
them with sense of curiosity. They
came rolling and tumbling around it.
The oars were quietly shipped, and we
lay by, watching their movements.
waiting favorable position for a shot,
The motion of two of them in particu-
lar l watched with interest. They were
half-curious, half-sportive. Sinking
suddenly in the water, ten or fifteen
feet, the huge creatures would turn
partly on their sides and rise up to
within short distance of us. beneath
the boat, with their round eyes observ-
ing it. Then with a sudden twist of
their tails they would shoot ahead.
come to the surface to blow, and then
roll under again, for another peek"
at us. The light was of such nature
that their movements down in the
water were distinctly visible-the twist
ing and waving of their fins, and the
bubbles which escaped from their blow
holes. l never witnessed a more in
teresting sight.
At length. the larger of the two.
which took to be the male, roseslowly
to the surface few yards ahead of our
bow, and with one lazy squirm of his
immense tail, started to cross. in front
of us. A straightforward bow-shot
was what the skipper had been waiting
for; he was crouching in the bow, sup
porting his heavy piece across one knee.
No one had stirred from his place. or
made sound, for some minutes. But
now as the whale rose. the skipper
suddenly braced himself, sighted his
big gun and fired. The lance struck
the huge creature Just beneath the for
ward ripper, and the recoil of the gun
threw the captain backward. He
dropped the gun and instantly seized
the harpoon.
But my eyes were fixed on the whale.
For an instant it lay motionless, as If
merely surprised. The sensation Of
pain had not yet reached his brain.
The skipper, in the meantime, hurled
the harpoon. which buried itself in the
whales side. Then, as if touched by
an electric thrill, the enormous creature
gave one mighty squirm forward. Its
tail rose high out of water, then dis
appeared with aloud sudge. downward
into the depths.
We we're drenched, and as we dashed
the salt water from our eyes. heard the
harpoon-line Hopping and flying out
Four, five,s six hundred feet of line ran
out, and we watched anxiously the
rapidly lessening size of the coil in the
tub. The skipper caught up a Ratchet
and stood with it raised ready to chop
the line off ere the last coil went out
But the whale just then rose rapidly.
at broad angle to his line of descent,
coming to the surface some three hun
dred yards distant and with such force
as to throw its huge body nearly clear
of the water. At the same moment he
spouted. throwing cut what looked to
be bushels of red apples high into the
air.
That's the colorr' cried the old salts
in the boat. "He's ours-if we can
hold TO him."
A jerk interrupted these exclama-
lions. Our would-be prize had struck
off after his flying kin fish, and in
we were shooting along the
water like an arrow. Every moment
now the boat seemed to gain Roadway.
like log on a long, steep shoot. A
clear wall of water rose on both sides
Of the boats gunwale, fully foot above
them: We seemed to be flying along a
big groove in the ocean surface. The
water whizzed as it went past us. a
most peculiar .seething note. 1t was
terrific! Fortunately our watery steed
Kept straight course. Four or five
miles must have been made in at most
ten minutes, when down plunged the
whale into the depths again, but rose
and Law perfectly motion